Wednesday, November 30, 2011

TNNP Ch. 10 & Ch.11

Chapter 10 of The Networked Nonprofit discusses the role that making friends plays in acquiring funding for your organization. The example the book uses is that of a man who has a party and asks all of his guests to donate $20.00 to some sort of charity. With 700 guests this turns out to be very helpful and helps to establish six water wells in Uganda. This example is meant to illustrate how people are motivated to give more if they have a good relationship with whomever they are giving for. This idea goes back to the point that in order to gain as many supportive followers as possible you must first create a personal connection with that person. In doing so people feel welcomed by the organization and want to help support it however they can. The book also says to focus on creating a more personal relationship with your strongest supporters, in doing so these supporters will be likely to not only give more but to also spread word of your organization to friends and colleagues. This chapter also discusses the importance of reaching out to younger audiences. This is important especially in regard to online campaigns, as a younger demographic generally views this more, but also because they can become supporters for a longer period of time. As in other chapters the importance of social media and blogging is stressed. In doing so organizations reach a larger audience but also make it so that their story/ mission can be easily shared between people. Creating a place online for people to read and contribute to your organization can take the personal aspect out of the situation. If not addressed than this can lead people to not feel welcomed by the organization, one way to combat this however is through the use of personal narratives to appeal to peoples emotions, making them more likely to contribute. Rather than requesting people to contribute money, giving people the option to contribute and thanking them graciously when they do is effective.
Chapter 11 of The Networked Nonprofit explains the governing of nonprofits and how this can better guide the organization through the future. The chapter uses an example of a board member named Joe who is part of the Save a River Foundation, it discusses how a typical board meeting in the office can be boring which results in low participation and sometimes not available to get to. The book offers and alternative however of using an online face-to-face video chat room as well as using social media sites such as twitter to post information and ideas. In doing so the meeting suddenly becomes accessible to a wider array of people across varying geographical contexts and, in combination with social media and the increased level of sharing ideas, more exciting. The chapter discusses several commonalities among ineffective boards. These include: a lack of diversity, poor leadership, and a closed culture that doesn't allow for real discussion and outside input. Stagnant boards often consists of a very homogenous group of people which results in a low level of diversity amongst ideas, this often creates a chasm between the board and those whom it serves. While taking a more networked approach in regard to the organization's board, there is an overall increase amongst many positive factors. This in turn makes the organization more likely to gain support from followers and in general more successful.